Look at What a Mess We Made
by Gemma Cane
Summary: Aisha has made some of the biggest mistakes of her life, and now, the past is catching up to her. Can she face up to it before it destroys her? Or is there something far worse heading her way?
1. First Impressions

**Part One - The Final Straw**

Aisha's eyes scanned the pages that the estate agent had given her. "How about this one?" She pointed at a modest little house with 3 bedrooms, and a small garden out the back. It seemed the perfect house for them to settle down in properly, start a family.

She looked at Nabu, hopeful, but he frowned. "Maybe...I dunno." He said. "It _could _work."

Aisha sighed. "This is like the fifth house you've dismissed in the space of ten minutes! Something's got to give."

"Hey! Easy there. This is a big decision. I just want to make sure everything's perfect for us. And for the baby." His voice trailed off and his face clouded over. His mouth was a thin line.

A wave of guilt crashed over Aisha and she reached across the table, taking his hands. "Nabu, you _know _I didn't want things to turn out like this! If I could turn back time, I swear I would...it just happened. I want to make it up to you but after-"

"A passion fruit smoothie for you," Roy appeared beside them, a tray balanced on his arm, placing a tall glass in front of Nabu. "And a watermelon crush for you." He smiled warmly at Aisha as he put the drink in front of her, then moved away to the next table.

They were in the Fruity Music Bar, meeting up with everyone else. Most of them were all out on the dance floor, strutting their stuff to one of Musa's latest hits. All of them in fact, except for Timmy and Tecna, who didn't dance full stop, and Flora and Helia, who were probably out taking a walk along the beach. But Aisha and Nabu were sat to the side of all the commotion, and had taken to house hunting literally anywhere. Aisha was getting rather desperate, but Nabu was quite laid back about the whole thing. Well, the house bit anyway. Everything else? Not so much.

She cleared her throat, taking a delicate sip of her drink. The crushed ice clinked against the glass as she put it back down on the table. Nabu wasn't meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry, Nabu. In spite of everything, even if it doesn't look like it, I...I love you. Isn't that all we need to know?"

He raised his head, and gave a small smile. "I love you too, Aisha, it's just I'm taking some time to get used to everything, you know?"

Aisha nodded. "I know, but you are being so patient with me. The both of you are. Things weren't meant to turn out like this. If I were you, by now I would have left me."

"But I haven't left you." He pointed out. "As much as I want to be mad at you, I can't be." He smiled, a real smile, and turned back to the sheets of paper. "I guess we can give this one a look around."

"Thank you!" Aisha said, exasperated. It had taken long enough for him to come to a decision. "It would be the perfect family home. You'll see. We'll make this work."

Over on the stage, the band rounded up the song and the customers erupted into applause. Musa said a few quick thank you's, grabbed her water bottle from the edge of the stage and came down the stairs to the left. The dance floor emptied out and a crowd gathered around the bar. Bloom and Stella approached Aisha and Nabu's table, soon followed by everyone else. Chairs were pulled from the surrounding tables and soon they were at the centre of the crowd. House hunting would have to wait.

"What are you looking at now?" Brandon asked, peering over Nabu's shoulder. "I thought you already knew what you were looking for?"

Nabu nodded. "Exactly, we know what we're looking for, but finding it's the problem." He sighed back.

"_But,"_ Aisha continued. "We have found a few possibilities."

"Ohhh, let's see!" Bloom leaned in over the table, angling the paper to get a better look.

Aisha pointed out the house they were checking out earlier, followed by approving ah's from Bloom, Stella and Musa. Tecna and Timmy were buying more drinks and Flora and Helia still hadn't returned. Giving Nabu a look to say _I told you so, I was right, again, _Aisha took a victorious sip of her drink.

Nabu leaned backwards and murmured to the guys, "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm just gonna agree anyway. It's the easiest thing to do. I've not been so sure about any of it, to be honest. Can't see the problem with our current house..."

Brandon sniggered under his breath, Aisha shooting him and Nabu a glare to kill, and Nabu smiled sweetly. Riven was looking at them, frowning, shaking his head slightly. It made her feel uncomfortable and awkward. She shifted in her seat.

"What?" Aisha demanded.

"Nothing, I was just wondering how you think you can pull all of this off." He replied. "You can't just act like nothing's happened. How do you think this'll all work, huh? You may act like you want to start afresh, but what's done is done. You don't know how you'll feel in a few weeks time, and when junior arrives- OW!" He was cut off as Musa gave him a sharp nudge in the side with her elbow.

Everyone sat in silence, not daring to say anything, in case it sent Aisha or Nabu off the rails. Every now and then, someone would scowl at Riven, but he'd shrug as if he'd done nothing wrong, which, Aisha thought, he hadn't really. Everything he'd said had been completely and utterly true. But hearing it from someone else made the pain even more real. The stares continued to fly around the group.

"What?" Riven asked. "I'm just saying what we all want to. It's not my fault all of you are too scared to speak up. I'm right aren't I?"

Aisha's face was hard, but she was screaming for mercy inside. Everything was crashing down around her, but there was nothing she could do to stabilise it. Blinking back tears, she stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused, not meeting Riven's gaze.

"Oh come _on _Aisha!"

"Just leave it, Riven." Nabu's voice was monotone.

"Leave what?" Riven was not about to give it up. "This is the real world. You can't just wave a magic wand and hope everything will go back to normal!"

"I said _leave it." _Nabu looked him in the eye, his voice more forceful now.

Riven scoffed at his efforts. "And you're not much better. You seriously believe that you can handle this?" Musa laid a warning hand on his shoulder, shaking him slightly, but he shook her off. "No, just let me finish."

"I think you've said enough." Sky spat.

Riven ignored him, turning back to Nabu and carrying on regardless. "This was supposed to be _yours, _all of it! But someone beat you to it. Why stick around? It's all _her _fault after all."

"Riven!" Musa gasped, disgusted.

"You think I don't already know that?" Aisha shrieked, standing up and leaning over him. "You think I wanted all of this? I hardly even want this baby!" She was deteriorating into an emotional wreck, screaming through her sobs. "I didn't plan all of this! The number of times I have told Nabu to leave, told both of them to leave...they choose to stay. Just because you would have fucked off doesn't mean everyone else would!"

Startled customers were staring at her now, but she didn't care anymore.

Nabu was stood now too, pulling Aisha away from Riven, but she wasn't coming quietly. "Aisha...come on, leave it- Aisha! It's okay..."

"You think you're so great, pointing out everyone's flaws!" She continued to yell at Riven. "I never wanted this, I never wanted any of it, I just...I just-" Her voice was becoming quieter. She could hardly catch her breath through the tears, and didn't know what to say anymore. What was the point?

"No one blames you Aisha." Stella told her, laying a hand on her arm.

"I blame myself!" Aisha sobbed.

"Don't listen to him." Nabu whispered into her ear. "No matter what he says, I'm not going to leave you. Not now, not ever. Sure, things are rough, but I couldn't leave you on your own. Like you said, we'll get through this, Aisha. You'll be alright. Everything's okay."

"No! No it isn't! He's right. This is all my fault! Why was I so stupid? I've ruined everything, I can't do it! I just can't! How can we get through this? Even you hated me earlier! But who could blame you? Look at what a mess I made." She tried to pull away from him, feeling like an intruder in his arms, but he held on tight.

"No, Aisha." He said, lifting her chin, wiping away the tears with his thumbs, forcing her to look deep into his hazel eyes. "Look at what a mess _we _made."

She sniffed, shaking her head. What had Nabu done? But he was so serious, so honest. She buried her face in his chest, enjoying the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her. He held a hand to the back of her head, holding her close, protective. She could hear Musa arguing with Riven quietly. She hadn't the strength nor the energy to confront him again. All she could do was stand there. Why couldn't things just be normal? Why did fate choose this path for her? Standing there made her realise that she was so lucky to still have Nabu, when she came so close to losing him. Behind her, glasses clinked as Tecna and Timmy arrived at the table with a tray of drinks for everyone. She didn't turn around though. She couldn't bear the thought of showing her face, she felt so ashamed.

"Man, that queue was mental!" Timmy grumbled. "We were standing in that line for exactly 11 minutes and 37 seconds, just for a few drinks!"

Tecna seemed to notice the atmosphere wasn't exactly cheerful. "Hey, what's...?"

Nabu was shaking his head at her, and she fell into silence. That awkward silence settled over them all again. Even Riven's smarmy comments subsided. Aisha pulled away from Nabu. She couldn't hide forever. He frowned at her, his face concerned. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and nodding to tell him she was okay. She wasn't sure of it herself, could she ever really be okay again? Letting go of her, Nabu returned to his seat, and Aisha pulled her chair around to sit beside him. Her eyes felt sore and swollen from the crying, but she tried to smile through it. Her friends all grinned at her, but none of them were real. They were just trying to be kind. Aisha knew what they all thought of her. Even Riven was making an effort now. He looked almost apologetic. Nabu had his arm around her shoulder, and she took another sip of her drink.

"So, Musa, that was a great song!" Sky broke the silence. "How long did that take? Will we be seeing it on your album?"

Musa smiled, glad of the distraction. "Yeah, hopefully. It seems to be a big hit so far, but you never really know. Things could change like that," she clicked her fingers, "in the music industry, so I'm lucky that I've got this place to perform small gigs and stuff."

A conversation finally started, moving on from Musa's music, to Brandon's new job as Assistant Manager at a new props store in town and then on to Stella's growing success in costume design because fashion didn't really work out for her. Life was carrying on, regardless of Aisha's problems. Her friends may be moving on, or at least making a good act of it, but for Aisha, she didn't think she could ever move on. That guilt would be with her forever, her child a constant reminder of the wreck she made of her life. Her parents weren't happy with her either. She was the only one not joining in with the conversation, staring at the wall. Nabu was getting on with it, and she admired him for that. But everything had changed, and just like Riven said, what's done is done, there's no going back.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Nabu had perfected the art of pretending you're interested when someone's speaking to you over the years. Every now and then he would nod and say yes, or no, or shrug his shoulders. He would laugh in all the right places and show sympathy when necessary. To be honest, he couldn't care less about Stella's terrible experience at the biggest fashion show in London to which she'd gained VIP access, or her miraculous talent for costume design. He hardly spoke to any of his friends anymore, only when they all decided to meet up so as not to lose contact with each other completely. Quite frankly, he had his own problems to deal with, and old school friends didn't exactly come into the picture. He hadn't really lied to Aisha when he said they could do it, but Riven's words had placed new doubts in his heart, the anger still underlying everything, the pressure to help her through it all pushing him to the limit. He knew that he was going to try his bloody best to get them all past this, but how good was his best in a situation like this? Too shocked to be angry when everything first broke out, anger had come slowly, brewing in the pit of his stomach. Seeing Aisha like this made him feel sick, constantly beating herself up, threatening to give up her baby as soon as she can, always wishing she'd made the decision to have an abortion whilst she still had the chance. That wasn't like her, but her mask had slipped long ago. Nabu was still desperately clinging on to his, if not to protect his pride, then to protect Aisha. She found it all way harder than he did. The fear of becoming a single mother kept her awake at night, the fear of being left alone, the fear of how other people would judge her. The whole thing was destroying her, and slowly picking holes in their relationship.

"Nabu?"

He became aware of his name being called.

It was Bloom, waving a hand at him. "Hello? I asked you what you thought I should do?"

Nabu looked confused. "Hmmm? Oh, what I thought you should do...right...um, sorry, Bloom, but what were you saying? I kinda switched off for a minute there..."

Riven sniggered in the background. Bloom sighed, smiling sweetly, and began to ask the question again.

Nabu was so tempted to roll his eyes at her. Why was his opinion so important? What about Sky, or Stella? "Look, Bloom, I've got a lot on my mind right now, I don't want to upset you or anything, but can this wait?"

"I bet we can all guess _what's_ on his mind..." Riven muttered under his breath, but still loud enough to guarantee that everyone heard.

Bloom glared at him, but nodded her head at Nabu. "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, take all the time you need."

She glanced sideways at Aisha, who turned her head away, hiding it in his shoulder. He could feel the tears seeping into his shirt, and reached across his chest to her hands, squeezing them gently. Her breaths were shaking ever so slightly. Suddenly, a door slammed behind them, and everyone turned to see a man standing in the doorway. Everyone fell silent, staring at him for a moment. He was dressed from head to foot in black: A leather coat, black jeans and a pair of heavy black boots. His coat was fastened with silver buckles and thick straps. His eyes were cold, shrouded in mystery and icy grey in colour. He had wavy orange hair that came down to his shoulders, two stands falling over his face, which was hard and unreadable. Scarily confident, broad shoulders rolled back, standing tall, he had captured the attention of every single person in the place. He began to move forward, ignoring the whispers and the pointing, the glances of confusion, awe.

"Check out Macho Man over there." Brandon said sarcastically, nodding his head in the direction of the door.

Not that he needed pointing out. He still held everyone's eyes, as if holding their lives in the palm of his hand, holding them still. Everyone looked on in amazement. Who was this stranger? Nabu couldn't help but notice that Klaus, the bartender and owner of The Fruity Music Bar had seen "Macho" in a completely different light. His face had registered recognition on the first sight of him, but his features had contorted into something no on could deny. _Fear. _Customers were starting to move on now, turning back to their tables and carrying on with their normal lives. Those at the bar were banging their fists on the counter, shouting at Klaus, but he had completely frozen. Musa suddenly leapt up behind Nabu, smiling hastily and running over to the stage where her band were doing the final checks. Before he knew it, the music had kicked in again, and people were sighing, giving up on the drinks until the next round of songs had been played. No one else left their table though, all too exhausted to go back and dance again. Nabu watched Klaus and this newbie intently. What was going on? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good...for anyone. Macho arrived at the bar, and greeted Klaus like an old friend, but with an icy edge to it. He placed some money on the counter, and smiled, one of those smiles with too many teeth, like a shark closing in for the kill. Klaus seemed to notice this too, because as he shuffled about with the glasses and jugs, his hands were shaking uncontrollably. Macho continued to smile at him, laughing at his nervousness. From behind the bar, the door leading to the kitchen opened, and Roxy stepped out, stopping short when she saw her dad, and looking even more concerned when she saw who was with him. Nabu watched as she put down her overloaded tray and walked over to the two men, standing protectively beside her dad. Klaus looked even more terrified now, glancing from Macho to Roxy. He held up his hands and took Roxy to the side. They had a short conversation, Roxy looking equally as desperate as her father, but eventually, she reluctantly took the tray and headed away from the bar, glancing over her shoulder as she went. Nabu frowned. Why was Klaus so afraid of this freak? What had happened between them? No one else seemed to realise what was going on. The pointless conversations about current occupations and shattered dreams and rough patches in life were still going on. Roxy handed out the drinks and platters of food absent mindedly, hardly noticing the customers' thanks or extra requests. Her eyes were fixed on her dad and this man, examining their every move. Her tray emptied out and she was getting ready to return to the bar. But Nabu wanted answers. As she passed their table, he reached out suddenly and grabbed her wrist. She jumped, nearly dropping the tray as she was hauled backwards. She whipped around to face her captor angrily.

"Nabu!" She hissed. "What is it? I'm kinda busy at the moment."

She tried to pull away from him, but he held tight. "Roxy, calm down. Look, I'm worried about your dad too, okay?"

At this she seemed to collapse in on herself for a moment. She sighed and looked towards the two men. "You've noticed it too then? The way that creep looks at my dad? I swear that every time my back is turned, I'm going to return to find him dead somewhere. I've never liked that guy. I don't trust him."

"Who is he?" Nabu asked, aware that everyone was listening now, catching on to his strange behaviour.

"His name's Ogron." Roxy replied. "He's been seeing my dad a lot lately. Every time he arrives on the doorstep, my dad has a mental breakdown, and makes sure that I'm upstairs out of the way. I'm never allowed to be anywhere near them when he comes around. I mean, just a second ago when I tried to talk to him, dad just told me to go away, and Ogron was just snarling behind his back, staring at us. I could feel his eyes watching me as I walked away."

"What's going on between them?" He pressed. "They must get quite aggressive towards each other sometimes...you must have heard something?"

Roxy nodded. "I always hear them. Bits of the conversations anyhow. They shout and yell at each other, and Ogron threatens my dad so much...he tells him he's gonna kill him, destroy everything he loves, get what he deserves." Her voice was shaking and tears glistened in her eyes. "From what I can make out, my dad has something of Ogron's, and he wants it back. But I don't know what. It's important to my dad anyway, because he is risking everything we have to keep hold of it, but I just wish he would talk to me sometimes!"

Not knowing what to say, Nabu just sat there, watching Klaus set out two drinks. Roxy also looked on in silence. Klaus pushed one drink towards Ogron and then took the other one himself.

"See? Dad's not supposed to drink on the job, it's against regulations. He can't have drinks that the customers buy for him! He's not one to break the rules either..."

Roxy was right. Klaus was completely out of character. Ogron was up to something.

"Look, I have to go, _now." _Roxy urged, slipping away from Nabu and moving through the crowds of dancing people towards the bar, where she could watch Ogron's every move.

"What was that all about?" Stella asked, stirring her drink casually with her straw.

"I'm not entirely sure, but basically, Ogron? Equals trouble. _Big _trouble." Nabu replied.

Everyone was serious now. Except perhaps for Stella. "So what? Two blokes having some territorial issues. What's new?"

"They're not having territorial issues." Brandon said. "Ogron just wants whatever's his back. But Klaus isn't the type to steal...is he?"

"No!" Bloom piped up, indignant. "Of course not..." But even she was starting to doubt it.

Nabu sat in silence, deep in thought. Aisha looked at him quizzically. "What are you thinking?"

"Roxy said that whatever Klaus has taken was important to him, enough to make him risk everything. What if it was Klaus' first? What if Ogron stole from Klaus before and Klaus just...took it back?"

Aisha contemplated this for a moment and nodded slowly. "That would make a lot more sense."

Nabu caught Roxy's gaze as she flitted between the tables. She looked petrified. Ogron had clearly done something to them before. Not just the threats and fighting. That fear had to have come from somewhere. He beckoned her over, and she came towards him, rather reluctantly.

She knew questions were coming because she demanded, "What do you want now? I've told you all there is."

"Ah, but I don't think you have, have you?" Nabu questioned. Her eyes slid away from his. "Roxy?"

"I don't know anything else, okay?"

"Why are you so afraid of him? What has he done to you?"

Roxy was in tears now, silent drops sliding down her cheeks. She wiped them away furiously, shaking her head. "Nothing...he's never done anything to _me.__" _

They way she said it made something slide into place in Nabu's mind. "What did he do to your dad?" Roxy remained silent, looking everywhere except at Nabu. She was falling apart in front of him. "Roxy, I can't help you and your dad unless you tell me the truth."

"I never asked for your help!" Roxy hissed. "You came over here, asking questions, and I told you what you wanted to know. That is _it. _Okay? We don't need your help, alright? We can handle this by ourselves." With that she turned and stalked off, her watchful eye back on her dad.

"But that's not true, is it?" Nabu called casually after her, stopping her in her tracks. "I know this is difficult, Roxy, but you know that you can't help your dad on your own. And your dad clearly isn't going to help himself."

There was a long pause, Nabu's words lingering in the air.

"He attacked him." Roxy's voice was barely a whisper.

The words sat around them for a moment, heavy. Nabu opened his mouth to ask yet another question, to squeeze more information from this statement, but Aisha put her hand on his, signalling him to stay.

"Give her time, Nabu." She murmured. "Things like this require it."

"Yeah, well, I don't know how much time Klaus has left..." He muttered under his breath, watching the skittish bar tender drumming his fingers against the side of his glass.

Aisha nudged him in the side, giving him a warning glare. Roxy was finding this hard enough as it was.

"It was in the early hours." Roxy continued, stone faced. "Maybe one, two o'clock? Anyway, I was asleep, until I heard dad come in the door. At first, I thought nothing of it. It had been a busy night, lots of customers, that kind if thing, and dad had been working long hours. I usually hear him locking up and the final drunken eejits leaving the bar. But someone followed him through the back that night."

"Ogron." Nabu snarled. He was starting to hate this man more and more by the second.

"Like I say, it wasn't the first time." Roxy's face had been drained of all colour, her eyes sunken hollows in her frightfully pale skin. It became clear that it wasn't just Klaus who was petrified of Ogron. "Ogron had followed my dad inside on many occasions, and the shouting tended to build. But not that night. That night, as soon as they were in the door they-" she broke off, her voice choking.

"Roxy?" Bloom's voice was concerned. "You don't have to do this now, okay?"

Nabu shot her an angry look. What was she on about? Roxy kinda did need to do this now, for Klaus. He appreciated it was difficult, but it was important. Bloom just glared back at him.

"We know this is hard. Ogron's a monster, and we can only imagine what he's done..." Bloom continued.

"No." Roxy broke in. "You can't possibly imagine."

"Then tell us." Stella was beginning to push now, gentler than Nabu, but the pressure was definitely there.

Roxy opened her mouth, but only silence came out. Her breaths were shallow, and she was clearly panicking. She looked away, violet eyes shrouded in tears. In a heartbeat, she fell apart, sobbing uncontrollably. Her empty tray clattered to the floor as her fingers went limp. Nabu doubted she'd be able to support her own body weight for much longer. Brandon, always the gentleman, stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She collapsed into him, and he helped her over to his chair, sitting her down. Aisha shuffled closer, clutching Roxy's hand, and Musa had one arm draped around her shoulders. Everyone was trying to soothe the traumatised girl, all muttering to her and whispering, saying it was going to be alright. But Nabu had noticed something. If Roxy had been his daughter, and he'd seen her breaking down like this, he'd be by her side in an instant. Klaus, however, who'd definitely spotted Roxy and witnessed her melt down, seemed to have other things on his mind. Dare Nabu say it, _more important _things. He saw how Klaus was trying his best to ignore his daughter's cries, keep himself square to Ogron. This meant _something _but Nabu just...couldn't work out what. It seemed to go deeper than him trying to protect Roxy from physical harm. He had that edge to him, like he was hiding something. So if not to keep her from being attacked like he was, why was Klaus so intent on distancing Ogron from Roxy?


	2. Back For More

_The bang of the door immediately told her something was wrong._

_"This is the last time! I'm only getting back what's mine." There was that voice Roxy had learned to fear. Ogron. "I won't ask again Klaus!'_

_"No." Her father was being admirably defiant. "It was a fluke. It should never have happened. What good will become of this?"_

_Roxy rolled out of bed and pressed herself against the cold wooden floor. She had her ear down, holding her breath, listening intently to the raised voices below her._

_"Look here," Ogron was saying. " I'm not a man you want to make an enemy out of. If you refuse me again, I promise you, I will crush your 'family'."_

_Roxy didn't like the way he said it, as though they weren't really a family at all._

_Klaus continued to defend his corner, but his words trembled slightly. "We are more of a family than you will ever know. You cant just take that away!"_

_"Watch me..." Threatened Ogron._

_"You can't make it yours! Besides, is it really good to mix everything up now? It's been 16 years! Imagine the heartbreak..."_

_"Which you inflicted!"_

_"And which you reinforced! If you really care, really want what's best, then you'll back off and leave us be, Ogron."_

_Trying to piece everything together was killing her. All Roxy had was snippets of information, little jigsaw pieces, none of which slotted nicely together. They were all jumbled up, and despite her efforts, she couldn't make sense of it. The voices kept getting quieter, and Roxy strained to hear, missing what could potentially be the key to discovering what was going on._

_"...means everything to me! You can't take that away!" Her father's desperation was strung through his words. But..._what_ meant everything to him?_

_"You should have thought about that on the night of June the 9th 16 years ago!" Came the vicious response._

_"Forget it!" Klaus yelled. "I- I can't. No matter what you threaten to do."_

_There was silence for several heartbeats._

_"Then you leave me no choice." Ogron's deep voice was eerily calm. "They weren't empty threats, Klaus. I made a promise, didn't I?"_

_"What? Ogron, wait- !"_

_"And I am a man who _always_ keeps his word, for better...or for _worse_! Something you couldn't do! If you could, then all this would actually be yours. But you threw it all away, and now it's mine. It's mine, and no matter how hard you try, _you_ can't take that away from _me_."_

_A crash sounded from the living room. Roxy leapt to her feet and thundered down the stairs. Her dad's yells were so loud, so desperate._

_"I warned you, you stupid, _stupid_ man!" Ogron's mad roars continued. "You never told her the truth, you kept her away! Now she's gone, she'll never see it, never know!"_

_Roxy flung back the door from the hall to the living room and stifled a scream. Her father lay slumped against the wall, an upturned chair lying beside him. His forehead was split and blood streamed down his face. Roxy could tell the chair had been thrown violently at him. That explained the crash. She'd never trusted Ogron, and this confirmed all of her doubts about him. She'd been right to have her suspicions...but why hadn't she come downstairs as soon as she'd heard him walk through the door? Maybe this could have been prevented? Ogron was leaning over Klaus, punching him in the face brutally, over and over again. Klaus' nose was now bloodied up, a thin red line trailed from the corner of his mouth and fresh bruises were beginning to show on his pale face where Ogron's fist had made forceful contact. His lip was split and swollen._

_"And you know what the worst part is?" Ogron shouted manically. "You call yourself her father!"_

_Roxy caught her breath. No one had seen her, standing there in the doorway. How was she involved in this? Klaus tried to protest, but couldn't speak. Roxy felt as though she were glued to the spot, unable to go and help her father, even though it was killing her to see him so vulnerable and helpless. His eyes kept rolling into the back of his head, but he was trying his best to remain conscious._

_"But what kind of a 'father' are you?" Ogron's voice had quietened down, and he looked at the man lying at his feet, his face full of hatred._

_But why? Roxy knew her father was a good man! As she watched on, something that to her, looked a lot like tears began to shimmer in Ogron's eyes. Roxy couldn't believe it. He wasn't the sort of man to have any kind of emotion...except anger and hate. He had just attacked Klaus, yet he felt he had a right to cry? He turned and walked away into the next room, and Roxy heard the back door open. For a moment, it seemed everything was over. But to her utter horror, Ogron returned from the kitchen, his fingers wrapped around one of the kitchen knives, knuckles white from gripping the hilt so tightly._

_"I swore I would find you...both of you. I swore that I would get it all back. I swore to destroy you, to kill you. Now it's time to live up to my promises!" Ogron raised the knife high above his head, Klaus weakly holding up his hands, shaking his head, tears pouring from his terror filled eyes._

_Roxy felt sudden strength, no longer worried about her own life. "NO!" She screamed, running to her dad's side and throwing herself over his limp body, looking straight at Ogron. She was terrified, but this was Klaus' last chance. "Don't you _dare_! You've done enough damage already!"_

_Ogron snarled back at her. "Move out of the way!"_

_"No!" She shouted again. "You want to kill him? You'll have to kill me first."_

_Ogron hesitated for a moment, his eyes clouding over. He looked at Roxy, unsure what to do. He almost seemed to be..._guilty_. But surely not? He wouldn't still be trying to kill her father if he was...not that it mattered, if he was only feeling 'sorry' after he took it to a new extreme._

_"Don't be so stupid." He finally spat. "You've got your whole life ahead of you!"_

_"So does my dad!"_

_Ogron flinched slightly at these words. "No, he doesn't. He's had this coming to him. Now move!"_

_"I told you, you'll have to kill both of us!"_

_"Fine then!" Ogron bellowed, lifting the knife once more._

_Roxy closed her eyes, and Klaus wrapped his arm around her, trying to pull her off him, but she clung onto him tightly. The sliver of silver rushed towards them, but at the last second, Ogron pulled up, turning around and flinging the knife at the wall. It hit its target, shaking from the force it landed with. Roxy let go of the breath she was holding, gasping for air. She was definitely on the verge of a panic attack. She had honestly thought that that was it, that she was going to die. That in the morning, Ogron would be long gone, on the run, whilst the police and forensics teams picked around her and her dad's bodies, lying side by side in the middle of their trashed living room._

_"Wh- how...?" Roxy gulped, burying her face in Klaus' chest, feeling his arm around her shoulders. She'd never felt so petrified._

_"Roxy, couldn't you just have got out of the way!" He murmured desperately. "Don't you see? I _can't_ kill you."_

_"Why not?" Roxy was defiant._

_"Leave it, Roxy." Klaus whispered, squeezing her shoulder with the little strength he had left._

_"_Why not?_" She asked again._

_Ogron paused a moment before finally answering, "Because you're only a child."_

_Roxy shook her head. "So that's how you work is it? You couldn't end a child's life but you could end an innocent man's? You...you stay away from us, okay? You stay away. Never come near my dad again!"_

_Ogron seemed to shrink back at this. "I..."_

_"You were going to kill him! I saw it! You tried to kill the both of us! Get out of here. Whatever you want, you can't have. Look what you've done!" __Roxy was sobbing now, holding Klaus' face in her hands. "Hang in there dad. You're gonna be alright...stay with me."_

_"Roxy...go...g-get out of here..." Klaus spluttered, chest heaving._

_ Roxy could feel Ogron's presence behind her. If she left now, her father would surely die. It didn't matter what Ogron did to her. "No dad. I'm staying. I'm right here...I won't let him hurt you again! You're okay, dad...alright?"_

_Klaus shook his head weakly, eyelids flickering._

_"Dad!" Roxy yelled. "Stay with me, dad!"_

_"That's _enough_!" Ogron shouted._

_Before she could register what was going on, Roxy felt Ogron's hands grabbing her and hauling her away from her injured father. He flung her across the room, and she landed hard on the floor, winded. Ogron came at her again. She tried to roll away, crawl to safety, but he pulled her up, turning her to face him. His strong hands gripped her shoulders. _

_She screamed and kicked out at him. "No! Let go of me you creep! Leave me _alone_!"_

_But Ogron held firm. "Look at me." He said calmly._

_Roxy refused, and continued squirming. "Get away from me!"_

_Ogron shook her violently. "Look at me!"_

_Maybe it was the shock, maybe it wad the fear. But at that moment, _something_ made Roxy go limp, and look at Ogron, eye to eye._

_"What?" She whispered._

_"Just...look at me." Ogron's voice was cracked._

_"I am. What do you want?"_

__"No...look at me properly. Long and hard. Don't you __feel__ anything? Don't I...__remind you__ of anyone?"__

___"Ogron...st-stop." Klaus gasped.___

____Ogron silenced him, sharply kicking him in the side. It made Roxy's skin crawl, hearing her father whining and whimpering like a nervous puppy.____

_____"Leave him alone!" Roxy begged, a strangled sob breaking through her words._____

______"Do what I told you to. Ignore him."______

_______Roxy did as he asked, but she did it with a look of disgust and contempt. "No." She said simply. "You're just another brute. _______Nothing_______."_______

________Ogron faltered at this. "...Nothing?"________

_________"Nothing." Roxy said again._________

__________"Not even a...a distant recognition?" He checked.__________

___________"How many times do I have to say nothing for you to get it? What do you want me to feel? Love? Because I can love anyone. Anyone...except you."___________

____________"You have no idea what Klaus has done."____________

_____________"And you seem to have no idea what you've done to him! How about _____________you_____________ look at _____________him_____________!"_____________

______________Ogron turned his attention to the bloody body on the floor. "He ruined my life..."______________

_______________"What?" Roxy didn't understand. The jigsaw lay itself out in her mind again._______________

________________Ogron snarled at her. "And you!" He roared. "Nothing? You say nothing and yet you don't understand whatever ________________'daddy'________________ has done wrong. The word 'nothing' about sums it up. He's destroyed everything! Everything he can, until ________________nothing________________ is left!"________________

_________________He threw Roxy against the wall so hard that, stunned, she slid to the ground. Her head was spinning as Ogron watched her. He shrank back again, backing away from her. He looked scared again, that edge of emotion, almost guilt, surrounding him. He looked around him, refusing to look at Roxy or Klaus. Suddenly, he turned and ran, and Roxy heard the doors slam as he left through them._________________

Coward__________________ she thought, rubbing the back of her head. She dragged herself closer to her father, pushing herself against him. They lay there together in the wreckage. What were they going to do? Sitting up, Roxy felt the room start to spin. She must've hit her head harder than she thought. Her father still hadn't moved. His breaths were shallow and his eyes closed. __________________

__________________"Dad?" Roxy whispered, holding his face in her hands. "Dad!" She said again, louder this time. __________________

__________________Klaus slowly peeled his eyes open. "Has...has he g-gone?"__________________

__________________"Yes." Roxy sighed in relief. "But...the damage is done. Look what he's done!"__________________

__________________"Are__________________ you _alright? What did he do to you?" Klaus put a gentle hand on Roxy's head._

__________________Roxy held his hand, and pulled it from where she'd hit her head. "No. I'm fine, honestly. But I'm not important. Dad, I want to help you. You have to tell me what happened. What does Ogron want from you?"__________________

__________________"It's nothing Roxy. Honestly, stop worrying about me. I-I'm fine." Klaus' voice was a hoarse croak.__________________

__________________"No, you're not. But if you won't tell me, at least tell the police."__________________

__________________"What? Roxy, no, leave it. Please. It's not a prob-" Klaus tried.__________________

__________________"I'm calling an ambulance and the police." Roxy explained firmly, pulling her cell from her pocket. "__________________Now."

_She began to dial the number. 9 - 1 - -_

_"Roxy, stop!" Klaus begged, weakly grabbing her hand._

_"You need help." The tears that streamed from Roxy's eyes made it hard to see._

_"I'll recover, Roxy. I need _time_."_

_"Time isn't healing. It's destructive." She replied, hitting the last digit._

_The ringing sounded, the noise spilling into the silent room._

_"I can't give Ogron away. I...I can't call the cops. Please Roxy."_

_She ignored him._

_"Hello, emergency service operator, which service do you require? Fire, ambula-"_

_At the last second, Klaus pushed the phone from Roxy's hand. It clattered to the floor. He reached out and ended the call._

_"I can't do this Roxy." He sobbed. "I just can't. He'll only come back for us. With more anger, more hatred. He's already vowed to kill me. Don't give him another motive."_

_"But we'll be safe with him behind bars. We can go back to living normal lives." Roxy said gently, squeezing his hand. "But before that can happen, you need help, dad, and Ogron needs to be caught."_

_Klaus shook his head slowly, looking straight through Roxy, eyes unfocused. It was as though there was something in the room only he could see. "Whether you make the phone call or not, we can _never_ go back to living normal lives."_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"You didn't make the call, did you?" Nabu sighed, head in his hand.

Roxy bit her lip, eyes closed. When she opened them, a single tear slid from the corner. "What do you think?"

"Oh Roxy!" He shook his head in exasperation. "Why?"

"How could I?" She whispered, hiding her face behind her hands. "I was scared. _He _was scared. If you had been there...If you'd seen his face, seen the fear in his eyes, heard it in his voice...I can guarantee that you would have done the same."

"What's done is done." Riven said again. "We can't change it." He shot a meaningful glance at Aisha, who ignored him and turned back to Roxy. "What matters is here and now. Ogron's back for more and this time something needs to be done."

Roxy nodded. "I know, I should have done something then, but I couldn't do it. Now I've got all this guilt to carry around with me, watching Ogron carrying on to threaten my dad. And I've got all of you involved!"

"We want to help you." Musa said gently. "You and your dad can't handle Ogron alone. The more people who know, the more chance there is that Ogron can be stopped. It's safer this way."

"Klaus seems in pretty good shape now." Noted Stella, earning her withering looks from the others. "Physically at least."

Roxy nodded vaguely. "Um...yeah, when I couldn't call for help, I tended to his wounds myself. You know, just cleaned them up and stopped him from losing any more blood. With time and a hell of a lot of TLC, he eventually healed. But as you say, Stella, it's only physically. Ever since that night, he's not been the same man anymore. Time is destructive. And who can blame him? It's as though he's here but he's not..._here_."

Silence fell over everyone again. Now Roxy mentioned it, they truly noticed it. Lately, Klaus had been all over the place. Just a shell of a man. They all felt ashamed to think they hadn't noticed it before now. Maybe they could have spared him from getting to this stage. Nabu felt the guiltiest of all. He'd been so wrapped up in his own problems, his own life, he'd stopped the one thing he promised he'd always do. Look out for the people around him. _Especially_ his friends. Klaus had been a fatherly figure to all of them, and Nabu had let him down.

"Why didn't I pay more attention? Why didn't I just open my bloody eyes?" He hissed.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Aisha soothed. "We all missed it. We were all fooled."

"Ogron, master of disguise." Roxy spat.

Despite their attempts to ease his mind, Nabu didn't stop. Ogron had wedged this terrible fear into the hearts of some of his closest friends, and he hadn't even had the decency to realise something wasn't right. People's lives had been destroyed right in front of him, but he'd turned away, wrapped up in trying to save his own reckless life with Aisha. At least something could be done to help them. But he feared that Klaus was too far gone, that he had been pushed too hard. Nabu would never forgive himself if that were true. Even if Ogron could be stopped, he'd made his mark, the scars had been implanted, and would never heal. How could he make this alright? Ha, alright was a far fetched fantasy to Klaus and Roxy now. But there had to be something Nabu could do, something that would help them now, at least make a difference. He couldn't let them suffer any longer. After what Ogron had done, after the pain he'd caused, it was time to take action. It couldn't be delayed any further. But what was he supposed to do? At his table, everyone was huddled together, discussing what was to be done with Ogron in the future. None had noticed what was happening now. None had seen what he'd seen. The band continued to play, and the majority of customers were still out on the floor. But a lone figure was standing at the bar. It wasn't Klaus. Ogron was now stood alone, acting far too innocent. Klaus was no where to be seen. Nabu calmed his pounding heart as best he could, telling himself that Klaus had probably just gone out the back with the garbage or into the kitchen for more ingredients or extra glasses. After all, business was booming tonight. But on the other hand, Nabu had a bad feeling that Ogron was only getting warmed up, that his past actions and sudden friendliness had only been a means of closing in, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Suddenly, Ogron turned and looked Nabu in the eye. Nabu jumped and Ogron's smile seemed to falter, before becoming firmly fixed to his face again. As innocently and as believably as possible, Nabu smiled back, before turning to his table again. But he wasn't finished with Ogron. Using his peripherals he continued to watch the man in black. Ogron was facing the counter again, but slyly turning his head this way and that way. He was scanning his surroundings, looking out for something. His innocence was dead, and had been replaced with suspiciousness. He continued to glance around, pausing as his eyes came to rest on Nabu's back. He clearly didn't like the fact that Nabu had taken so much interest in him. Nabu tried to act casual, but carried on watching. Satisfied that no one was watching him (or so he thought), Ogron reached slowly into his pocket. Nabu frowned to himself. What was he up to? Then the shock hit him full force in the chest. Ogron had produced a small glass bottle, brown in colour, with a red and white label on the side, and a cork in the top. Nabu didn't trust this one bit. Ogron popped the top, took one more look around and with a hand that didn't even shake, poured the tiniest, _tiniest _little drop into one of the glasses in front of him. Nabu sucked in his breath. Wasn't that...it was! Ogron had slipped Klaus' drink, with no fear and complete control. He knew exactly what he was doing, what he wanted. He didn't even seem to feel guilty that he was about to end someone's life! Picking up a stray teaspoon from the counter he gave the drink a quick stir, and dropped the teaspoon on the floor. The noise and buzz from the live music was the perfect cover for him. Nabu felt sick to the stomach.

_Sneaky little bastard... _

Ogron jumped as the kitchen door swung open and Klaus shuffled out, carrying a tray full of sparkling glasses. Nabu wished that Klaus could have just stayed in the kitchen, stayed away. Made a break for it. Anything other than returning to Ogron. He feared the worst for his friend, feared that he would have to watch him die. Ogron smirked, closing a fist around Klaus' drink and pushing it towards him, his smile just a little too big for his face...


End file.
